Sea Vancouver Festival organizers have filed a plan with the province's bankruptcy office to pay their creditors about 10 cents on the dollar.



Tall ships in English Bay during the festival
The festival still owes $1.7 million to suppliers, vendors and performers – but festival chair Janice Podmore says there is less than $200,000 in the bank.

"That amount is uncertain because we still have to receive some of the outstanding funds," she says.

The festival received about half a million dollars from the City of Vancouver for what was billed as an event that would connect the city with its waterfront, attracting tens of thousands of people to see the tall ships in English Bay.

It was also expected to contribute $27 million to the local economy.

But ticket sales fizzled – which meant a lot of people went unpaid for goods and services supplied to the festival.

The festival has filed its plan to pay off debts with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

Podmore says creditors will receive a copy of the plan later this week. And they'll be invited to meet with festival organizers next month to discuss the outstanding debts.

Last summer, there was still optimism that the the festival would be back next year, with lessons learned from this year's financial mess.

But Podmore now says there will be no Sea Vancouver next year. "Yeah, it's really sad. It's really disappointing."